If Things Get Complicated
by Fairy Cactus
Summary: Spirits exist. That's a fact. Even if her parents insisted they were just her imaginary friends, Nozomi Matsui knew better. All she needed was someone who would believe her.
1. Prologue

Nozomi wanted to get through her time at Shinra Private Academy by making as few waves as possible. She would avoid any interaction with the other students, score high on tests to keep her parents off her back, and sit next to the window in order to give her something interesting to stare at when she inevitably started daydreaming during class. Ironically, it was that last part that rendered her entire plan ineffective.

Having already blocked out her classmates' chatter, Nozomi turned her head towards the window and settled into her default daydream: life as a Pokémon Trainer. Her parents may not have allowed her to play her copy of Pokémon Blue at school, but her parents couldn't stop her from thinking about it. Not that they wouldn't if they could.

She was right in the middle of envisioning an epic battle between Trident the Blastoise and her rival's Charizard when she spotted movement on the school grounds.

A dark-haired boy was dragging a smaller figure as he sprinted towards the gates of the school, his undone shirt flapping in the wind. If Nozomi squinted, she could make out the bandages wrapped around the unfortunate kid being pulled at a breakneck pace behind him.

 _What the hell?_ Sure, kids ditched class all the time, but they usually didn't bother showing up in the first place. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself she had to investigate. It's not that she wanted to skip class exactly, she had an obligation to make sure those two weren't up to anything shady. And if it meant getting to avoid the class reps' daily speech, well, that was just a bonus.

Nozomi glanced at the clock. There was still seven minutes until homeroom started, plenty of time to leave before Fujiwara-sensei arrived and took attendance.

Her decision was clear.


	2. Of Cats and Dead Samurai

Out of all the graveyards Nozomi had ever been in, this one was the most aesthetically pleasing. The entire area resembled a zen garden more than it did an actual graveyard. There were pools of water and carefully pruned trees around the edge of the area, scattered rocks covered in moss, and even a bridge crossing over ripples of sand. It wasn't that it was well cared for, per se, but there was an air of purpose about the setting. The entire atmosphere was so relaxed that Nozomi felt she could fall asleep at any moment. But that would be counterproductive. She already dreamed enough; right now was about what might happen in reality.

Still, it was awfully boring just sitting there. She tried passing the time by braiding her long, dark hair, but that was only entertaining for a short while.

Every so often, she would feel herself drifting off to sleep before the thought of missing out on something extraordinary jerked her back to full consciousness. Alas, this was all in vain; the two boys never moved from underneath the tree.

You'd think if two people had literally sprinted to a graveyard they'd be up to something interesting. Apparently not.

She wasn't close enough to hear any potential conversation but judging by the way they were lounging under the tree, there wasn't anything to hear.

She sighed and slid down the shrine to the ground. Here she was, hanging out in a graveyard watching other kids hang out in a graveyard. No wonder she tried to make something out of nothing. The only "special" thing in her life was the occasional glimpse of a ghost.

Not that seeing ghosts was all that fun. Whether dead or alive, people were still the same. After a lifetime of exposure, they kind of lost the appeal.

That was the usual case, anyway.

Normally, she couldn't care less about every Aerith and Bob who decided to skip school. It was something about those two boys specifically. Nozomi didn't believe in vibes or intuition, but that was the only way to describe it; a gut feeling nudging her in their direction. Although, considering how thoroughly uninteresting they were, maybe they were just another couple of rich kids.

Still, Nozomi didn't want to leave. She couldn't quite shake off the possibility of something.

Really, it was better that she stayed. First of all, if she left she would always wonder what might have happened. Second, and most important, the grass was surprisingly comfortable and it would've taken more energy to get up than she was willing to expend.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And nothing changed except the sky.

As the number of stars grew, her optimism drained away. Surely something would've already happened if it was going to. She wanted a break from routine, yet doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the night was pushing it, even if it was a change of scenery.

There was still a nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her to stay. What if leaving was the biggest mistake she'd make? What if she missed out on something that could've changed her life forever? Would it really be so bad to listen to her heart instead of her head?

But a simple feeling couldn't stack up to the fact that she had waited there, at that spot behind the shrine, without the barest glimpse of something out of the ordinary.

Even knowing that, intense disappointment flooded her stomach. Every day it was the same thing: school, home, sleep, school, home, sleep, rinse and repeat. It was so boring! By contrast, everything that was even slightly out of the norm made her fantasize about a life of adventure.

But she always came back to reality, if only for a little while.

So Nozomi gave up. She spun around on the heel of her boot and left. Or, at least, she tried to, but her plans were thwarted by an incredibly fluffy cat.

Besides the fluff factor, this cat was particularly dapper. Its long fur was completely black, except for white patches on its chest and paws, making it seem red-carpet ready. Its ears curled backward and its eyes remained fixed on the ribbon dangling off of her school bag, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Aren't you cute!" she said, kneeling and reaching a hand out towards the cat. She half expected it to run away, stray cats didn't tend to like people, but this cat was very friendly. It rubbed its head against her hand and started to purr. She couldn't help but smile. "Are you really this sweet or are you just looking for food?"

The cat simply responded with a trill and continued purring.

"I guess it's a bit of both then." Nozomi opened her bag and took out her lunch. She had already eaten most of it, but there was still some takoyaki left over. Cats liked seafood, right?

She turned back to the cat and was about to feed it when she paused. She wondered how safe it would be to feed the cat. Sure, it didn't have any onions, since she wasn't all that fond of them herself, but it's not like she was some kind of cat expert. If she ended up poisoning the cat, accidentally or otherwise, she wouldn't be able to let it go. She made a move to return her food to her bag when she made eye contact with the cat's large green eye.

That was a crucial mistake. The meanest, toughest, Yakuza would have given in under the power of such a heartbreaking gaze.

When Nozomi didn't immediately hand over the food, the cat upped its game by letting out a plaintive meow, which, combined with its sad eyes, effectively earned the cat its much-desired food.

Oh well, as far as she knew, it would be fine, so long as she didn't feed it too much. And as an added bonus, the cat now liked her that much more. Achievement Unlocked: Bribe a Cat to Be Your Friend.

The cat finished the takoyaki and sat back, swiping its tongue around its jaws expectantly.

"Sorry kitty, I don't have any more food, but here," Nozomi undid the ribbon around her bag and tossed it to the ground. "You can play with this."

Predictably, the cat pounced on the fabric and began shredding it with its claws. Now that the cat was better distracted, Nozomi could leave without being guilted by its adorableness.

It was at that moment that a loud shriek cut through the air. "Ahh! There they are!"

Oh sure, things got interesting just when she was getting ready to leave. Well too bad, she wasn't that desperate for a change in the status quo. Any forces of fate already had their shot, an hours worth as a matter of fact.

"I don't like this! Please, let's go back!"

Then again, someone could be in trouble. The possible point of interest aside, that warranted some attention. Nozomi wasn't so heartless as to ditch someone in danger; however, she wasn't a saint either. She wanted to know what she'd be getting into before she decided to get involved.

She pressed herself closer to the wall and leaned forward ever so slightly. The angle wasn't ideal; she couldn't see very much without risking being caught. It was lucky that she could even grasp the basics of the situation.

Farther away from herself was a large group of people separated from the two boys by a bridge. They were clearly a gang judging by their posture and general gang-ish stance. Going off of the structure of the group, Nozomi guessed that the one with the sword was the leader. He was tall and seemed to be a few years older than her. It was difficult to guess whether he had graduated or was a delinquent looking for some trouble. In his blinged-out white suit and exaggerated pompadour, he looked like a caricature of that Elvis guy her dad liked to listen to. She would have laughed at his over-the-top outfit had the wooden sword on his shoulder not been mildly alarming.

"I will kill you and send you to the next world!"

Yes, mildly alarming indeed.

Nevertheless, the dark-haired boy remained unperturbed.

The boy put his hands on his hips and stared the gang leader down in a manner that resembled a mother scolding her children. "Like I said, my friends in the next world say you've been annoying them."

It would seem there was some drama afoot. Nozomi could've sworn she'd seen something like this on TV. The selfless main character takes on a gang to protect his new friend from bullying. The odds are against him, but he triumphs in spite of it. Or, something like that.

Wait a minute, did he just imply he had dead friends? Friends in the sense that he visited their graves or friends in the sense that he could actually see and talk to dead people? Nozomi had a particular interest concerning the latter.

Just when things were getting good, something soft wound around her ankles. She looked down and, to no one's surprise, her feline friend was the culprit. She just couldn't win with this cat!

Exasperated, she reached down and scooped the cat into her arms. "Now listen," she whispered, "You can stay, but you're going to have to behave, understand?" Judging by the way the cat snuggled into her arms, it seemed to be alright with those terms.

All distractions taken care of, Nozomi turned her attention back to the scene at hand.

The boy spoke again, "There are already a few from before who really want to fight you. Isn't that right," behind him, a samurai with wild white hair and twin swords materialized, "Amidamaru?"

At that point, Nozomi was pretty glad she decided to follow them. It's not like she thought she was the only one who could see ghosts, statistically speaking that was incredibly unlikely, but it had been hard not to feel at least a little isolated. Ghosts were old news; people who could see them were not.

The gang wasn't backing down. Apparently, samurai ghosts weren't sufficiently scary. Although to be fair, their inability to see the samurai ghost probably helped. Their leader called his friends, Apache and Spaceshot, who dutifully went to beat up a couple of children with their bare hands.

The boy remained unaffected. In fact, he laughed in their faces. "Like I said, someone who can bind this world with the next, that's what it means to be a shaman!"

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that those words drastically altered Nozomi's future.


End file.
